State

The Federal Communications Commission is targeting approximately $66 million through the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program to drive awareness and enrollment in the country’s newest and largest broadband affordability program in the nation’s history.

In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly established the Office of Broadband Coordinator within the Office of Regulatory Staff to serve as the central broadband planning body for the state and to coordinate with federal, state, regional, local, and private entities to encourage the continued development of access to broadband in the Palmetto State. The office was charged with convening a collaborative stakeholder process to identify challenges to expediting broadband access—and so it established the Broadband Advisory Council to help guide broadband planning in South Carolina.

If governments are to truly close the digital divide, they must focus on encouraging community broadband adoption and making sure residents have tools to access high-speed internet, not just on installing infrastructure. While there has been a lot of recent talk about the need to better map broadband availability, panelists at Nextgov and GCN’s Emerging Tech Summit warned that there must also be a similar emphasis on ensuring that people can take advantage of internet access, or else some communities will not feel the benefits. And while investing in new broadband networks is a tangible way

AT&T is on a quest to deploy fiber broadband to 30 million locations by the end of 2025. But if comments from COO Jeff McElfresh are any indication, its ultimate goal could be much, much higher. McElfresh said that despite a choppy economic environment, demand for fiber remains high and its rollout is still delivering the right level of returns. With that in mind, he added, the 30 million target AT&T set in May 2021 is “not the entirety of what I think the market opportunity is there.” “We're going to be on this journey for a while.

New legislation introduced in the Texas House of Representatives could give voters in the state a chance to decide whether or not to throw $5 billion behind efforts to improve broadband there. The bill, known as H.B. 9, calls for the creation of a state Broadband Infrastructure Fund and would give the Texas comptroller and Public Utility Commission power to allocate the money for specific uses.

UScellular brought its 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) technology to North Polk High School in Alleman, Iowa, to show state government officials how it can connect homes, businesses, and classrooms – with the added benefit of mobility. The location was selected to represent the typical characteristics of any small town in rural America. Alleman has a population of 423 people. The wireless operator was joined by technology leaders at Ericsson, Qualcomm, and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA).

Several people have asked me recently if cellular companies will be pursuing Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants. Until recently, cellular companies didn’t have a product that would have qualified for broadband grants. BEAD and other grants are awarded to internet service providers (ISP) that serve homes and businesses, not cell phones.

Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson is asking Pennsylvanians to provide input on the stakeholder engagement process for developing two plans: the State Digital Equity Plan and the Commonwealth’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Five-Year Action Plan. The two-week public comment period began on February 27 and ends Friday, March 10, 2023. The State Digital Equity Stakeholder Engagement Plan will focus on engaging eight primary populations required through federal guidance – aging individuals, incarcerated individuals, veterans, indivi

The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) has extended the deadline for Wave Three of the Connect New Mexico Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”). The application period will close on April 3, 2023. The Pilot Program aims to bridge the digital divide and foster socioeconomic progress by providing infrastructure grants for broadband deployment to unserved and underserved communities across New Mexico. The $123 million pilot program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF).

AARP Arkansas and ARConnect, the state’s broadband office, are teaming up to bridge the digital divide in the Natural State. Glen Howie, state broadband director, attended AARP Arkansas’ Advocacy Team meeting to provide a deeper dive into broadband infrastructure deployment and how it will benefit Arkansans.